Massaging apparatus.



P. E. JONES.

MASSAGING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JAN. 13, 1912.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cc... WASHINGTON. n. c.

FRANCIS E. JONES, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MASSAGING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

Application filed January 13, 1912. Serial No. 671,019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS E. JoNEs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Massaging Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

One of the principal objects of this in vention is, to produce a device by means of which a person may massage his own abdomen, or other part of his body, as desired, without the assistance of a masseur.

A further object is to produce a device which may be used by an operator in massaging a patient, and by the use of which an efficient and beneficial treatment is obtained.

The invention further includes various other objects and novel features of construction and arrangement, hereinafter more definitely specified.

- In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is an elevational view of one form of this invention, shown in perspective; Fig. 2 is 'a central vertical sectional view of the body of the device on the line 22 in Fig. 1; a portion, however being shown in elevation for the sake of clearness; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken on the line 33 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the body portion of a slightly different form of the device, the cover being partly broken away to show the interior thereof.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of this invention therein shown con sists of the body portion 1., composed of any suitable material, such as wood, and

which is preferably of cylindrical form, as best shown in Fig. 1. If constructed of wood, it is preferable to form the body of two superimposed pieces 2 and 3, suitably fastened together, the grain of the upper of said pieces being preferably arranged to run at right angles to the grain in the lower of said pieces. The body portion 1 is hollowed out, or constructed to form a pan-like receptacle, and may be provided with a central transverse partition 4, which may be either integral with the material from which the body portion is formed, or may be inserted therein. A plurality of transverse partitions 4: may be employed,-

if desired, forming additional chambers within the body portion as shown in Fig. 4:.

The body portion may be slightly concave upon the bottom, as best shown in Fig. 2, or it may be fiat, or even have a slightly convex shape, as desired.

A' thin cover 5, preferably formed of metal or other suitable material, is provided to close the chambers formed in the body portion as above described, and is rigidly secured to the peripheral walls of the body by the screws 6, or in any other suitable manner. This cover is provided with openings 77 on either side of the transverse partition, which give access to the chambers within the body. These openings may be closed by suitable pivotally mounted shutters. 88, for a purpose which will be explained hereafter. It is obvious that, if desired, the plurality of openings may be dispensed with, and a single opening in the cover so located, relative to the partition, as to give access to all of the chambers within the body, in which case but one shutter is required to form an adequate closure therefor.

An upright post 18 extends upwardly fronf the center of the body portion. The lower end 20 of this post passes through a suitable opening in the cover 5 and fits tightly within a recess formed in the partition 4, and is held permanently in place therein by a screw 21, or other suitable means.

At a suitable distance above the cover 5, mounted upon the post 18, is a relatively long normally horizontal handle or lever '25, which may be of any desired length and .of suitable cross section to provide comfortable handholds near its extremities. Attached rigidly to either side of this handle, near its center, by the screws 26 or other suitable fastening means, and extending downwardly therefrom, are two links 27 and 28, each provided near its lower extremity with a suitable aperture extending horizontally therethrough, and registering with another horizontal aperture in the upper portion of the upright post 18. Through these apertures extends a' horizontal pivot pin 30, which is held in position by cotter pins 31, located in suitable apertures near its extremities. Between these cotter pins 31 and the links 27 and 28, the washers 33 may be inserted, if desired. The positions of the upright post 18 and of the pivot pin 30 are preferably so arranged with reference to the transverse partition 4: within the body of the apparatus, that the handle 25 will lie approximately in the same vertical plane as the said partition.

Through the openings 77' in the cover 5, a given-quantity of fluent material 85 may be introduced within the body 1 of the device. This fluent element is preferably a liquid of high specific gravity, such as mercury, although, if desired, other less weighty liquids may be used. In practice, owing to the comparatively high cost of mercury, its use is almost prohibitive, and it has been found that a quantity of lead shot, preferably of small size, makes a very efficient fluent material for this purpose, and in Fig. 2 of the drawing the hollow chambers within the body 1 are shown partially filled therewith. After the desired quantity of fluent material is introduced within the body through the openings 7-7, the shutters 8 are closed to prevent any of the fluent maigerial escaping from its containing chamers.

Around the periphery of the bottom of the body 1, is preferably placed a narrow strip of frictional material 38. This material may be of rubber, or some substance of a like nature, its object being to prevent any slipping of the apparatus when in use.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the patient desires to massage a por tion of his body, such as the abdomen, without assistance, after extending himself upon his back and flexing his limbs, he places the device upon the part to be operated upon, in this case the abdomen, and grasping an end of the handle 25 in either hand, he imparts to the said handle a motion from right to left and vice versa, relative to his own body, and in a horizontal plane. This motion of the handle, acting upon therigidpost 18 through the pivot 30, imparts a sort of rocking movement to the body 1 of the device, and the fluent material contained therein is caused to flow from the right-hand ends of the chambers to the left-hand ends, and then inthe-opposite direction corresponding with the movement of the handle 25. Since the fluent material contained in the body is of relatively great weight, a sort of kneading movement is imparted to that portion of the patients body upon which the apparatus rests, which closely approximates, and in effectiveness equals, that imparted by the hands of a professional masseur. When used to massage the abdomen, on the righthand side of the body the caecum and ascending colon, and on the left-hand side the sigmond flexure and descending colon are stimulated with correspondingly beneficial results upon the digestion and general health of the patient. Furthermore, the kneading 'of the flesh produced by the motion of the device has been found to be of great use in the treatment of obesity, a considerable reduction in weight following its continued use.

If it is desired to operate the device with the aid of an assistant, one end of the handle 25 may be attached to a suitable clamp upon the edge of a massage table upon which the patient is extended; the assistant standing at the other edge of the table, is then in a position to operate the other extremity of the handle in such manner as to effect the shifting of the fluent material within the body port-ion of the device, or the assistant may dispense with the clamp and operate the device by grasping the ends of the handle in a manner similar to that already described.

As hitherto stated, the hollow body portion of the applicants device may be provided with a partition, or with a plurality of partitions, and, in practice, this construction is often adopted for it has been found that without one or more partitions, the tendency of the fluent contents is to collect in a mass at the lowest point, and to vio-. lently roll about when the apparatus is oscillated, thereby concentrating practically the whole weight of the device on too circumscribed an area, especially where the apparatus is being employed in the treatment of a delicate person. hen the mass of fluent material is sub-divided and kept in separate chambers, however, while still free to follow the movements of the body of the apparatus as imparted by the motion 1 of the handle, its weight is more evenly distributed over a much larger area, the violent shifting of the fluent material. from one point to another is modified and controlled, and a gentle and yet effective kneading movement is imparted to the patients body.

Of course it is understood that one of the important advantages of the device lies in the fact that the quantity or kind of fluent material within the body may be altered at the will of the operator, and in practice it is found desirable to modify the weight of the apparatus by lessening the quantity of material contained therein when treating certain diseases or patients of slight physique, and to increase the quantity of fluent material when treating other ailments or when more robust persons are to be operated upon.

It will be understood that the body portion of the device may be constructed in various shapes and sizes in order to operate successfully upon various portions of the human anatomy, and to facilitate its use in the case of adults or children; and, furthermore, although only a single form of the apparatus has been illustrated, it is not desired to confine the scope of the invention to a device having a handle of the precise design of that shown in the drawing, for it is manifest that various changes may be made bottom and containing fluent material, a

rigid upright portion coaxial therewith, and a handle pivoted to said upright portion.

2. A massaging apparatus, comprising a rigid hollow body portion having a slightly concave bottom and containing fluent material, a transverse partition in said body portion, a cover for said body portion rigidly attached thereto and having openings communicating with the interior of said body portion, closing means for said openings, an upright portion rigid with said body portion, and a handle pivoted to said upright portion and vertically movable in a plane parallel to said partition.

3. A massaging apparatus, comprising a rigid hollow body portion containing fluent material and having a slightly concave bottom, a band of frictional material extending around the periphery of said bottom, a trans verse partition within said body portion, a cover for said body portion rigidly attached thereto and having openings communicating with the interior of said body portion, closing means for said openings, an upright portion rigid with said body portion, and a handle comprising a cross-bar pivoted to said upright portion and vertically movable in a plane parallel to said partition.

4:. In massaging apparatus, the combination with a hollow body portion having a transverse partition, of a handle movable vertically in a plane parallel to said partition, and fluent material within said body portion.

5. In massaging apparatus, the combination with a hollow body portion having a slightly concave bottom and containing fluent material and having a partition within said body, of a cover for said body portion having openings communicating with the interior of said body, and suitable closing means for said openings.

6. In massaging apparatus, the combina tion with a rigid hollow body portion hav ing a slightly concave bottom and containing fluent material and having a central transverse partition within said body, of a cover rigid with said body having openings communicating with the interior of said body, suitable closing means for said openings, an upright portion rigid with said body, and a handle pivoted thereto and movable vertically in a plane parallel to said partition.

7. In massaging apparatus, the combination with a hollow body portion containing fluent material, of frictional material on the bottom thereof, a transverse partition within said body portion, and a cover rigid there with.

8. In massaging apparatus, the combination with a hollow body portion containing fluent material, of frictional material on the base of said body portion, a partition within said body portion, a cover rigid therewith, and a handle above said body portion.

9. A massaging apparatus, comprising a rigid hollow body provided with a plurality of chambers, and containing a movable element operative to shift the center of mass of said apparatus in correspondence with the movement of said body.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of January, A. D.,

FRANCIS E. JONES. Witnesses:

FREDERICK A. BLoUNT, ALEXANDER PARK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,050,836, granted January 21,

1913, upon the application of Francis E. Jones, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for

an improvement in Massaging Apparatus, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 59, for the Word sigmond read sigmoid; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of February, A. D., 1913.

C. C. BILLINGS,

Acting Commissioner 0 Patents.

[SEAL] 

